


You Will Be Found

by books_are_my_patronus1397



Series: The only 5am I wake up for [5]
Category: Zombies Run!
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-03
Updated: 2019-06-03
Packaged: 2020-04-07 00:28:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19073779
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/books_are_my_patronus1397/pseuds/books_are_my_patronus1397
Summary: After confronting Sam and Paula about Dr. Lobatse, Five questions her place with her newfound family.  When a routine mission goes sideways and Five finds herself on her own and in mortal peril, it's going to take everyone to get her back home and show Five how important she is to Abel and everyone in it.  Takes place after S3M27.





	You Will Be Found

Five stared at the closed mess hall doors, working up her courage while the memory of her last mission replayed itself in her head.

_“Neither of us can stand you,” Paula snapped. Her voice was bitter and sad and unrestrained, thanks to the calming plants. “Sam told you this mission was happening two hours later so you’d miss it. Why can’t you get the hint we don’t want you around?!”_

Five rubbed her face in frustration. That blue flower mission had been a disaster almost from the start. Sam was cold and rude to Kefilwe as soon as she walked in to the comms shack. Paula seemed distant the whole run, but Five didn’t think much of it with Maxine missing. But when the chemicals got into her system, the gloves were off. Five still felt the sting of Paula’s hurled insults and even worse, felt the same from Kytan, Cameo and Yang shaming about Sam and Paula’s behavior and perhaps rightly so. 

The image of Sam running out of Abel and helping Paula to New Canton while Five just stood there, left behind, popped into her head and she viciously stomped on the flare of jealousy and loss that came with it. All of this just made Five feel like an outsider on all fronts. She hadn’t felt that way at Abel in a long time. It wasn’t fair, to anyone, and it was stupid. But they needed to work together, so she had to push all of that down and focus. Now that Sam and Paula were back, it was time they had a chat about their newest doctor. 

Five took a breath and then pushed open the doors. She scanned the chairs and benches scattered haphazardly around the room. One long table towards the back held a few empty pots and some stacked trays. Five or six people, at most, remained in the room. They were mostly runners who had missed the lunch hour cleaning out the remaining leftovers. 

It didn’t take her long to spot Sam and Paula. They were sitting off by themselves in the far corner, heads bent together in intense discussion. 

Five lifted her chin, a challenge to herself, and approached them. She slid onto the bench across from the pair, folding her hands on the tabletop. 

“We need to talk.”

Sam’s head snapped up at her voice, startled. Then he grinned as he realized it was her. “Hey!”

Paula eyed her with a hint of caution. “What’s wrong?” 

Five clenched her jaw. She didn’t like confronting them. But she knew what it was like to not be welcomed and it bothered her that her friends were doing it to someone who didn’t deserve it. Even if she felt like an outsider, maybe she could make it so another person didn’t have to.

"We need to talk about Dr. Lobatse."

Sam glanced at Paula. "Five, maybe it's not the best time..."

"There’s never a best time," she interrupted him. "But I’m doing this now." Five looked at them for a moment, trying to find the right words. But words had never been her strong suit. 

She sighed. "What is the matter with you two?" she asked.

Paula crossed her arms while Sam shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Five pressed on. "It's not Dr. Lobatse's fault Maxine is missing. She is doing her best, like we all are. I’m not—” she took a breath. “I’m not saying you have to like her but you shouldn’t be cruel. Now, I know the calming plant had a part to play the other day,” she said in a strained tone. “But it’s clear you meant what you said." Paula looked down at the table. 

"And you!" Five turned to Sam. The frustration she had been suppressing started to bubble over. "Telling Dr. Lobatse the mission started two hours later than it actually did? What the hell, Sam?! We trust you to watch our backs out there and you go and lie to the doctor?” She was surprised by the burning in her eyes that told her she was about to cry. Sam wouldn’t meet her eyes, but she noticed his cheeks redden. “We're lucky she got to the comms shack when she did, or Paula might not be here right now!” 

Sam flinched and Five paused a moment until she was certain she could speak more calmly. “You can't keep acting like this.”

Paula finally spoke up. "Dr. Lobatse can’t just replace Maxine.”

"Maxine isn't here and someone needs to fill her place until we get her back. Dr. Lobatse is it." Five said, her voice clipped. Paula jolted in her seat and Sam's eyes widened. It hurt Five to say, but someone had to. "She has been nothing but helpful to all of us. The other runners have noticed how you've been freezing her out and it’s affecting our missions. You’re putting all of us at risk.”

She couldn’t bear their hurt looks so she softened a little, pleading. “Listen, we will get Maxine, and everyone else, back. But the only way we survive is if we work together. I thought you, of all people, would understand that.” Five looked helplessly at her friends. "I don’t understand. I’ve never seen this kind of thing from either of you, not even when I became Runner Five after—“ Five stopped. She wasn’t sure she should go this far, but she had to make her point. 

“After I took Alice’s number," she said quietly.

The silence between them stretched painfully. "That was different," Sam finally muttered.

"How?"

"Well, Alice was--we knew she was--"

"She was dead,” Paula said gently, placing a comforting hand on Sam’s arm. “She wasn't coming back. But Maxine is still alive and I don’t want anyone thinking that we can just forget her because we have Dr. Lobatse.

Five frowned at her. "No one is forgetting Maxine and no one can replace her. But Kefilwe is a good person and she is trying to help. I think you should both apologize to her."

Paula glared. "You may be able to just move on, Five, but we won’t. Sam and I have known Maxie longer than you've even been at Abel!” Five noticed how quiet the mess hall was as Paula's voice rose, echoing through the empty space. “You can't possibly understand how we're feeling.” Sam tried to interrupt, murmuring something Five couldn’t catch. But Paula shrugged him off, tears in her eyes. “It’s like you don’t care about her at all. Or maybe you're just angry because you know you can be replaced and Maxine can't be!"

Five froze. Paula's anger morphed into guilt the moment the words left her mouth, but Five barely noticed. She couldn’t move, couldn’t even breathe as the truth of Paula’s words filtered through her brain. Five had always known, intellectually, that she was replaceable—runners were replaced all the time. She had always been replaceable, even at Mullins. But hearing it out loud, from someone she trusted and respected, hurt. Maybe she really was an outsider. 

"Five--" Paula said but Five stood abruptly, the bench squealing across the floor as she pushed it back.

"You’re hurting, I get it. But if you’re not careful, other people are going to get hurt, too." Before either Sam or Paula could respond, she walked away without a single glance behind her. 

********

Sam found Five at Abel's gates later that afternoon. A couple of guards lounged against the walkway on top of the wall waiting for the signal that a runner was about to go out. He noticed her tucking her laces into the tops of her shoes. She always did that before runs because they were less likely to get snagged on something that way.

"Hey," he said as she approached her. He scuffed his shoes in the dirt but Five didn’t look up. "I, uh, I didn't think you were scheduled for any more missions today."

Five couldn’t pretend to tie her shoes any longer. She stood, crossing her arms in front of her. "I volunteered. Doctor Lobatse says we're low on antibiotics."

Sam rubbed the back of his neck. He looked around, making sure no one else was in ear shot. At the moment they were alone. "Paula didn't mean what she said, Five. She was just upset."

"She seems to be saying a lot of things she doesn't mean lately." Five turned on her headset with a click and settled it over her head. Her weapons were already secured at her waist.

Sam tilted his head. "Come on, that's not fair."

She raised her eyebrows. "It's not? Have you talked to Cameo and the others?"

He could feel the heat in his face. "You know how they exaggerate, Five.”

"I don’t think they were this time,” she shook her head. “Maybe you should start paying more attention.” 

He struggled to control, much less identify, the feelings that twisted inside him. "Maybe you should have given me a heads up about what was going on.”

"I tried," she snapped. “And you can see how well that went.”

They glared at each other for a long, painful moment. Then Five deflated.

"Sam,” she pinched the bridge of her nose. “You're one of the best people I've ever known," she said, her voice decidedly softer. Sam felt his anger fizzle. "And hearing the stuff they said about you and Paula and Lobatse . . . I was angry. I was angry at them for talking about you like that, I was angry at you for…” Five stuttered to stop. “And I was ashamed at myself. Because you know the worst part?" She looked at him, but he couldn't speak. 

"The worst part was that Dr. Lobatse defended you and I couldn't, because that was the first time I had heard anything about it. You never told me what was going on, Sam, not once. I _tried_ to talk to you, but you always had Paula. The only time I realized you were feeling this way was on this last mission.” She glanced away and rubbed her palms on her pants. “Maybe it’s my own fault, that you didn’t feel like you could rely on me,” she muttered. “I just thought that we..." she shook her head sharply. "Never mind. It doesn’t matter. I just…I don’t want this search for Maxine to turn you into someone you’re not.”

He started to speak but the warning sirens of the rising gates cut him off. Five adjusted her runner's backpack. "I have to go."

"Five, wait," he touched hear arm as she took a step towards the gate. He heard the scattered popping of covering fire, clearing a path for Five. They didn't have time for all of the things he wanted to say.

"Stay safe, ok?"

She nodded, but the movement was perfunctory and uncomfortable. There was no hint of that small, crooked smile she usually gave him. As she jogged through the gates and disappeared, he couldn't shake the feeling that something had gone wrong while he wasn't looking.

*****

Five did what she did best: she ran. Her feet pounded the earth, pushing all of the turmoil inside her away with every step. As Abel disappeared behind her, Five could almost feel Janine on the other end of her headset, very carefully not saying anything.

Eventually though, Janine had to do her job. _“Very good Five. Your way is clear for now, no zoms in sight.”_

Five kept her pace steady. She had one simple goal on this mission, and she had been to this hospital a couple of times already so the route was familiar. It was a perfect distraction—she had to stay alert but didn’t need to be too focused.

 _“Runner Five. If you need to discuss anything with me, you can,”_ Janine said after a moment, with only a little discomfort. Five made a wry smile but didn't answer. She heard Janine sigh over the headset. _“No, I suppose you'd rather not. We just can't have you distracted, Five, so if you need to get something off your mind...”_

"Thanks Janine, but I'm fine," she murmured. 

_“Very well._ Five was grateful for her business-like manner. It made all the mess easier to ignore. “ _Now, Dr. Lobatse provided a list of the supplies we need. It looks like the priority is...hang on.”_

Five slowed to a walk, waiting to hear why Janine suddenly sounded so on edge.

 _“We're getting an unidentified signal_ ,” she said. _“It’s an SOS_. _”_

Her nerves started to hum. “Where?”

Janine paused. _“Head east_ , _”_ she said, coming to a decision. _“I don’t like sending you off alone and without investigating first, but…”_

“It could be our missing people,” Five said. **It could be Maxine** , she thought. Her heart started race. “I know.” She took off in the new direction, running faster than before. 

It took nearly twenty minutes of hard running before Janine spoke up again. _“Keep up the pace and you should be there soon_. _”_ Five was sweating, but her breathing was steady and her muscles were strong.

 _“Be on alert._ _It looks like you'll have to go in to that grove of trees to your right. The signal is coming from somewhere in there.”_

Five slowed a little as she entered the trees. Tripping now wouldn't do her or the people in trouble any good.

 _“Okay, you're just about...there_.”

Five stopped, scanning the empty grove around her. She tried not to breathe too loudly, in case there were hostiles in the area. An insect buzzed briefly by her ear and then it was gone. The underbrush was a tangled mat of dead leaves, tall grasses and brambles. She saw nothing unusual, but it was going to be a tough search for whatever device sent the distress signal.

 _“Odd.”_ Janine sounded perfectly calm, but Five sensed some heightened concern. “ _Perhaps take a look around, see if there are any clues as to who sent that signal, or where it came from_.” 

Five began to comb the surrounding trees, moving in a ponderous spiral pattern. She winced at every snap and rustle she couldn’t help but make, but there was nothing for it. She would have to just keep a closer ear out for signs of zoms.

She was so focused on listening for the identifiable growl and searching for clues that it took her a second too long to register the danger of another snapping branch. Her instincts flashed a warning and she whipped around just as a heavy, weighted net fell on her from above, knocking her to her knees. Five scrambled to get out from underneath it but the rope only tangled her limbs further. She muttered a curse. 

_“Five! What happened?”_ Janine’s voice was sharp with alarm.

Before Five could answer, she heard the hollow click of a rifle being primed next to her ear. She froze.

"Stop squirming or I blow a hole in your head."

Inch by agonizing inch, Five raised her head to stare down her captor. He was a tall, solidly-built man wearing a red roughed-up baseball cap. She didn’t notice many of his other features. She was a little preoccupied with the rifle hovering mere inches from her face.

A whistle pierced the air and Five glanced to her right, careful to move only her eyes while she held her body still. The man holding the gun seemed bored to her, but his companion emerging from the trees was downright chipper. He moved into her line of sight, smiling and clapping the man with the rifle on the shoulder. "Told you it would work! Those guys in Canton and Abel always send people out to check random stuff. It's about time we took advantage."

The gunman gestured with his weapon. "Get her up and search her. Then we'll see. You know Charlie just wanted this to be a trial run." He leveled the rifle and addressed Five. "You try anything, I shoot. Even if you don't die, the zoms will probably find you before you bleed out, so let's be smart about this.

She remained silent and glared at him with every ounce of ice she could muster. He looked away after a couple of seconds and snapped at his friend, "Hurry up!"

The friend yanked her to her feet. He took out a pair of handcuffs, of all things, and cuffed her wrists behind her back before even attempting to take the net off. He was practiced and maneuvered the ropes with ease. Five realized that he had done this before.

 _“All right Five,”_ Janine murmured over her headset. “ _Just stay calm. We'll figure this out.”_

"You know, this one's giving me the creeps," the one handling the net said. "Usually they cry, or beg." He grabbed her by the neck and tugged her head back. She winced. He leaned in close to her face and the manic look in his pale brown eyes sent a chill down her spine. "I like it when they beg."

Five said nothing and prayed he couldn’t read the disgust and fear that flickered through her. When she didn’t respond, he scoffed and then pushed her head away. 

"Enough, Travis," the gunman said. "Take her weapons. What's that on her head?" 

Travis took her weapons and her backpack, slicing the straps with a knife. **Asshole** , she thought. She loved that backpack. Then Travis ripped the headset off of her head, snagging her hair in the process. 

"Some sort of communication?" He put it on his own head. "Check one, two, check." Five waited, her nerves on edge. Would Janine talk to him? 

"Nothing," he shrugged. "What do you think, Rich?" 

"Turn it off, but bring it with us. Charlie wants everything we find." He jerked the gun in what was clearly an order to start walking. Five planted her feet until a shove from the back sent her stumbling forward. She recovered quickly and lifted her chin, holding Rich’s glare with her own. 

He growled, "that’s enough. If you try to escape, or slow us down, or make trouble in any way I will shoot you. And it won't be quick. Understand?"

Five hated it, but she forced herself to nod. It was a shallow dip of her head and she wanted him to know that she was resisting, but not give him a reason to shoot. Rich glowered and jabbed the barrel of the gun into her side. He poked and prodded her into a jog while Travis lead the way. 

Five’s heart beat a steady rhythm as they crossed the vast countryside. With no headset, a weapon at her back, and two unknown captors more than willing to let her die, Five probably should have been terrified or at least concerned. But she wasn’t.

She was angry.

****

Janine stared at the dark screen in front of her and slowly put her head in her hands. **Damn. Damn, damn, damn.** **Did they not have enough problems right now?!** Her hands curled in her hair as guilt lashed her like a whip. She had sent Five into a trap, _again_ , and now her runner—her friend—was captured and at risk of being killed. Worse, Janine had no idea of how to find her or even begin thinking about a rescue. She had lost Five on the long-range cams not long after her headcam went dead and had no other leads.

 **Stop it.** She ordered herself. **First step, notify residents of Abel and New Canton of the danger. Then we move to the second step. Whatever that is.** Janine took a deep breath, held it, and then let it out slowly and steadily. She did the same exercise two more times before she was calm enough to tune the radio and contact New Canton. If her eyes were a little watery, she ignored it. She had a job to do. 

****

Sam looked up at the gentle knock on his door, hoping Five had received the message he left for her at the gates.

"Oh,” he said when he saw Janine. He tried to convince himself he wasn’t disappointed. “Hey Janine. What's up?” he asked. “Shouldn't you be at the comms?"

Janine clasped her hands behind her back. "Mr. Yao. There has been a... development you should be aware of."

"I'm not sure I like the sound of that," he joked, swinging his feet over the side of his bed. He caught the tightening of Janine’s mouth and paused. “What is it?”

"We've lost contact with Runner Five."

His stomach dropped and he felt a flash of cold. "What does that mean?" he asked carefully. 

"We—” Janine cleared her throat. “ _I_ sent her to investigate a distress call we received while Five was out on the mission." Her voice was steady, but Sam had been around Janine long enough to see the worry creased at the corners of her eyes. "But it appears someone had placed it there to lure New Canton and Abel runners in and she was captured." 

He stared at Janine, scrutinizing her expression. She was scared, he realized. She was scared for Five.

Sam pushed himself to his feet and started walking down the hall of the barracks. He could be at the comms shack in five minutes if he hurried. "Who are you sending out?” he asked, ticking through the list of available runners in his head. “If we go now, we'll still have a few hours to search before dark."

"Sam, wait," Janine said gently. Sam stopped and curled his hands into fists. If she was calling him by his first name, she must think it was bad. "We can't send anyone tonight. We don't have the manpower or the time before dark."

He turned to look at her in disbelief. "We’re just going to leave her out there, alone?”

Janine opened her hands in defeat. "I'm sorry Sam. We have no idea where they went. The men who took her shut off her headset, and they disappeared from camera range. As soon as we can, I promise, we will send someone out to search."

"What about New Canton?" he asked desperately. "You said they were trying to lure both our runners. This involves them too, won't they help?" 

Her face hardened. "I thought of that. I talked to them," she shook her head. "They thanked me for the warning but said they wouldn't risk their people on a mission with such little chance of success."

"They won’t _risk_ \--" Sam bit his tongue to keep his anger in check. "Five has risked her life for New Canton countless times! Even _after_ they tried to kill her."

"I know. We will ensure someone is at the comms 24/7 in case anything happens. As soon as we get fresh runners, we will send them out." 

Sam struggled not to snap at her. It wasn't her fault. He knew that and she looked guilty enough already. It was his fault, really. He hadn't stuck up for Five, he hadn't tried to talk to her soon enough and she signed up for another mission just to get away from him. Now Five was out there, alone and in danger, believing she was replaceable. 

"Don't bother," he told Janine. "I'll monitor the comms."

"We can implement shifts," she offered as he walked away. Sam shook his head.

“I’ll be there until she comes home,” he said. “However long that takes.”

****

Five stared straight ahead, her back and shoulders stiff. Her wrists were chafed raw by the handcuffs, but she didn't dare show her discomfort. It had been a long, tense trek over the countryside and Rich had kept badgering her with the rifle. But Travis was her main concern. He liked to stare at her and she knew he noticed every unintentional twitch or grimace of pain. He was a person who would enjoy every second of breaking her. 

They brought her to an abandoned prison. The facility wasn't on any of Abel’s maps, probably because the runners never came out this far in this direction. But it also wasn’t on Janine’s old, pre-apocalypse maps that Five had studied for hours. She was going to have a discussion with Janine when she got back about updating their records.

The age and decrepit state of the building was probably one reason Charlie, the man standing before her, looked so annoyed. He was younger, and Five guessed he would be in university now if such places hadn’t been overrun by the undead. His dark hair was neatly styled and he seemed like a man who enjoyed comforts. But comforts were hard to come by these days, especially in a place like this. 

**Where on Earth did he find hair gel in the zombie apocalypse?** Five wondered as Rich and Travis ushered her towards him. Charlie had converted what looked like a prisoner visiting room into his personal office. A barred window on one wall would let in a decent amount of light during the day, though at the moment it was just a black square in grey stone. Charlie lounged in a leather chair covered in cracks and stains. An ancient television placed on a rolling cart was hooked up in the corner, but it was off for the moment.

"The distress signal worked?" Charlie asked, unfolding from the chair and getting to his feet as they entered.

"Sure did," Rich said. "But she had this with her." He handed over her headset and Five tensed as Charlie inspected it.

“This is high-end tech nowadays,” Charlie turned it over in his hands. “Care to tell us who is on the other end, sweetheart?”

Five simply stared at him. She sure as hell wasn’t going to put Abel at risk by telling him anything. Besides, if Charlie felt safe because he thought no one was watching, maybe he would get complacent. She could work with that.

“Chatty one, isn’t she?”

“Didn’t say one word the whole way boss,” Travis said. “But if you want her to talk, I can make her talk.” 

She cried out as a sudden burst of pain exploded in her head. Warm blood trickled down her forehead and into her eyes. Her knees gave out when Travis kicked her and she fell to the ground.

“Put that away,” Charlie drawled. Travis shrugged and holstered the pistol he had used to hit her. 

Five tracked Charlie with her clear eye as he stalked towards her, eyeing her like he would a choice piece of steak. “What do you think about answering my questions?”

She held his gaze as she spat blood at his feet. Charlie smiled. “Perhaps we should ask the people at the other end of this headset?”

Five snorted. “No one will answer.” 

“She speaks!” He crouched down, his face inches away from hers. “We know you’re a runner and we know you’re from one of the bases. It must be nice having those safe, high walls to protect you. I’m guessing you have friends back there as well? Family? You really think I believe that they don’t care about you?”

“Believe what you want,” she shrugged, ignoring the sting his words caused.

Charlie gave her a slow smile. “Why don’t we find out?”

*****

Sam sat at his desk, his head buried in his arms. The comms were quiet and the camera screens dark. They had been that way for a while. All of the other runners were in for the night, except Five. But he couldn't risk leaving, just in case she came back online.

A soft knock at the doorway made him lift his head. He felt a flash of irritation, quickly swamped by guilt and shame when he saw Dr. Lobatse at the door, holding a plate with a sandwich.

"I noticed you didn't make it down to supper," she said, entering the room hesitantly. "You should eat something."

"Thanks, but I'm not really hungry.” He grimaced. “I feel a bit sick, actually." 

She nodded. "I understand. Well, I'll leave this in case you change your mind.” Lobtase set the plate down and hesitated. “I take it there is no news of Runner Five, then?"

He rubbed his nose. “No. Nothing. No signal, no clue, no idea _where_ …! “ he stopped when his voice wavered. “Sorry. Thanks for the food.”

Dr. Lobatse nodded. “All right then."

"Wait," Sam said as she turned to go. "There is something, well, I need to say something." Dr. Lobatse paused at the doorway and Sam forced himself to meet her eyes. "I'm sorry. For the way I've been acting. It was wrong and it’s not fair to you. It’s not your fault Maxine is gone. And, I'm sorry about what Paula said."

Dr. Lobatse smiled softly. "Thank you for that, Sam. I don't know Maxine, but I know what it's like to not know what has happened to the people you love. Why don’t we start over?"

Sam nodded just as Janine appeared in the hallway. "I see you finally have some food. Good. It's time for you to get some rest Mr. Yao. I'll take over for a bit."

"I'm fine," he insisted. "Really, I would rather just stay--"

The screens flashed on, filling the room with harsh, moving light _._ He whipped his head around, already reaching for the mic to talk to Five. Then he froze, his blood running cold.

The picture was a little grainy, but he could see Five kneeling on some floor, arms pinned behind her, with blood running down her face. She glared at whoever was holding the camera, but beneath the anger Sam could see that she was hurting.

 _“I told you_ , she said. Her voice was faint and the connection crackled with interference. “ _You won't get any response.”_

Sam got to his feet and fumbled at the mic. He had to tell her that they were there, they were listening, but Janine lunged into the room and clutched his wrist in an iron grip. "Don’t."

One of the men holding Five kicked her. She grunted in pain and Sam's heart faltered. "She thinks we aren't looking for her!"

"She's giving us a chance to catch them, whoever they are, off guard," Dr. Lobatse told him as she stared at the screens. She looked shaken. "If you say something now it will alert them to our presence." 

If Sam really thought about it, he might agree. But it was hard to do that when he heard Five add, “ _they have enough runners without me.”_

A man’s voice, smooth and comforting, spoke much closer to the headset than Five. _“Maybe we should test your theory. Abel, New Canton, or whoever, you might want to say something.”_

Sam watched in terror as the unseen speaker drew a gun and placed it at Five's temple. Five closed her eyes. “ _You have ten seconds_.” 

"Oh God," Sam whispered.

Janine's grip tightened, as if she knew he was thinking of reaching for the mic again. "He's just testing us. He won't shoot, it doesn't make sense."

"You're willing to risk her life on that?!" he snapped. 

_“Ten, nine, eight...”_

_"_ If we answer and he thinks his base is in danger he could very well kill her," Janine explained. "But why capture someone just to shoot them later? What would he gain from that?"

Sam looked at the screen again and his whole body tensed. “ _Four, three, two…”_

_“One.”_

His knees buckled as the man pulled the trigger. 

He heard the _click_ of an empty barrel and sank back into the chair, shuddering with fear and relief. He watched Five take a shaky breath as the man put the gun away. **She’s still alive** , Sam reminded himself. **She’s still alive.**

He heard the man laugh off-camera. “ _I guess you were telling the truth. They don't care. Put her with the others, wherever there's room_ ,” he addressed the others in the room. _“And next time you bring down someone with one of these, leave it in the woods. We got lucky this time, but we can't take the risk.”_

Sam had just enough time to see the flash of fear in Five's face as they dragged her to her feet before the screens went dark once again.

Janine finally released his wrist and Sam rubbed it absently. Dr. Lobatse was looking at Sam in concern but he barely registered her presence. All he could see was the gun at Five’s head reflected back at him in the black screen.

“We need to make sure to send runners out in pairs at the least, but preferably groups of three. For all missions," Janine said briskly. 

“We have to go after her,” Sam said when he finally found his voice again. He tore his eyes away from the computer and looked up at Janine. “Please.” 

“As soon as we can,” Janine promised, squeezing his shoulder. “Runner Five is resourceful and strong. She’ll hold on.”

Sam didn't doubt she could. The question was, for how long? 

****

Rich slammed a baton into the bars of the prison cell. Travis brandished a taser that sparked and crackled in his hand, while he gripped Five’s arm with the other.

“Get back!” Rich yelled.

The three people huddled in the cell stared at him with wide, haunted eyes and moved back without argument. Five saw a couple of others in the adjoining cells watching them with disinterest. Rich unlocked the cell door and then Travis shoved Five forward so hard she stumbled to her knees. She was back on her feet in an instant, but Rich was already locking the door behind her.

With a vulgar gesture, Travis tossed the keys to her handcuffs into the cell and they clattered to the floor with a tiny clink. “You can keep those on if you want, baby. I know a few tricks I could teach you.”

Her shoulders shook with fury as he laughed and walked way, Rich following. It wasn’t until after the two of them disappeared that she forced herself to relax.

She felt small hands fumble at her wrists, then her cuffs came loose with a click. Five sighed in relief as the metal left her skin. She turned to thank her helper and came face to face with a young person, maybe early teens, holding out the handcuffs to her. Their eyes looked much harder than they should be at their age, even in the apocalypse.

“Thank you,” Five said, taking the cuffs and key and pocketing both of them. You never knew what could come in handy. “What’s your name?”

“Max,” they said. A much younger girl peeked her head out from behind Max’s legs. Max looked down and put their arm protectively around her. “This is my sister Danny.”

“Hello,” Five greeted her softly. “My name is Five.” The girl hid behind Max again. Five turned back to Max. “How long have you two been here?”

Max shrugged. “A couple of days?”

“You’re lucky,” a woman from the other cell spoke up. “People don’t tend to stay here very long,” 

“Why?” Five asked. The woman looked away and hunched down. Five looked around but the other man in her cell stared at the ground, as did her other neighbors.

“All right then,” she muttered, annoyed. “Has anyone tried to escape yet?” Five’s lock picks had been confiscated with her runner’s backpack and she didn’t wear bobby pins. She wouldn’t turn down others’ ideas at this point. 

The man in her cell snorted, but didn’t look up. The woman in the neighboring cell scowled. “You aren’t getting out of here, girl. If anyone tries to escape, they’re caught and never seen again. My advice, make peace with your god and accept it. Don’t go giving everyone else here false hope.”

Five glared at the woman, who simply hunched over and turned away. Max and Danny went off by themselves, whispering. Their cellmate remained seated in his corner of the cell. She settled down in the opposite corner, settling herself between the bars and the stone wall in the back. It had been a long day and she was exhausted. Nothing was happening tonight. But in the morning, she would get to work. She was going to figure out what was going on and, more importantly, how to get out of here. She had made peace with whatever higher power existed a long time ago. But she wasn’t going to accept a damn thing.

***

Five woke to a painful crick in her neck. She groaned and rolled her head around, trying to loosen up the stiff muscles. There was nothing she could do about the stinging on her wrists.

When she got to her feet, Five noticed four untouched plastic bowls towards the front of the cell. Someone must have delivered food while she was asleep. They were filled with cold, canned beans. She made a face but took one of the bowls, sniffing it for signs that it was rotten or poisoned. It smelled normal so she took two more bowls and crossed the cell towards Max and Danny.

“Here,” she said, setting the food in front of them. “You should eat.”

Max glanced at the other prisoners. “They said we shouldn’t.”

“Why?” she asked, sitting cross-legged on the floor. “We need to keep our strength up if we’re going to get out of here.”

Max frowned for a moment and then reached for the bowls. They handed one to Danny, who was staring at Five. Five winked at her and Danny giggled. The three of them ate in silence for a while, until the food was mostly gone.

"Why is your name a number?" Danny pipped up. Max quickly nudged her with their elbow.

Five smiled. "It's all right," she told Max. "My friends call me Five. Can I tell you a secret?” Danny nodded solemnly but Five waited for Max to nod too. When they did, Five lowered her voice. “I’m a runner for a place called Abel. The number five is my designation and it sort of became my nickname."

Danny stopped sucking on her thumb to ask, "but do you have a real name?" 

Five nodded.

“How come you use a different name?”

Five hesitated. Not many people knew her given name. Sam did, of course. She had told him one night not long after she first arrived at Abel, when they both found themselves unable to sleep. He had shown her his secret spot on the roof of Janine’s farmhouse and they stayed up for hours watching the stars and talking. It felt right to tell him.

Janine knew her name because she had access to the records at Mullins Base. Runner Eight had likely known but if she did, she kept it to herself. Five didn't actively keep her name a secret, but it carried a past she wanted to move on from.

"Sort of," she answered. "But I just like the name Five."

"So, you chose to be Five, kind of like Max chose to be Max," Danny nodded, content now that she figured it out. "Max didn't like the name mum and dad picked."

Max eyed Five. "It’s nice to have the names we pick, isn’t it?” Five told them. “Where are your parents?" she asked, even though she already guessed the answer.

"They're dead," Max answered. "Long before we got stuck here."

"Do you have a home to go back to?" 

"What business is it of yours?" Max snapped. Danny looked up at them in slight alarm. Max sighed and rubbed her back gently, the gesture at odds with their tone.

Five put down the plastic bowl, now that it was empty. "I was on my own for a long time, too. It’s no way to live, even now.” Five studied their face. She didn’t want these children to become what she had to be, before Abel. They didn’t have to be outsiders. "Having support is a good thing, Max. I just want to help."

Max snorted but there was a deep pain in their eyes. "Nobody ever just wants to help."

"Some do," Five said gently. "My friend Sam, he does. He saved my life before he ever knew me, because he could and it was the right thing to do. That’s what the people at Abel are like, mostly. That’s why I run for them. And that’s why I want to help you."

Max shook their head and picked up Danny so she could sit in their lap. The cold iron bars dug into Five’s back as she leaned against them. "The world sucks, Max. But we can try to make it suck a little less. All I'm saying is, if you want, you can come with me to Abel when we get out of here."

She leaned back and closed her eyes while Max frowned at the floor. A woman Five didn’t recognize came, collected the bowls, and left without a word. 

Eventually, Five heard a quiet shuffling next to her and she opened one eye. Max sat next to her, knees pulled up to their chin and stared at the floor. 

“I’m not saying yes, yet,” they emphasized. “But for Danny’s sake, I want to get out of here. And right now, it seems like you’re our best option. Your friends,” Max said after a moment. “Will they come get us?”

Five’s stomach fluttered. **You’re replaceable** , a voice whispered in her head. Even if it was true, they wouldn’t give up on her that quickly. Right? 

“They don’t know where we are. But if I can get to my radio, we can get help,” she told them firmly. “Until then, we’re on our own.”

“No one is coming for you, girl.”

Five turned to look at the other member of their cell. The man didn’t look up when he spoke and his voice was flat and emotionless. “Even if they wanted to, you won’t last long enough for them to get here.”

Five shot him an icy look and tried to convince herself that he hadn’t just voiced her own doubts. She turned back to Max and Danny. “Ignore him. We can start getting out of here right now. What did you see when they brought you here? Maybe an armory?”

Max smirked. “Even if I did, we still have to get out of this cell.”

“We’ll work on that,” Five crossed her arms. “But if we’re going to get farther than this cell, I need to know what else is in this prison.”

Danny tugged on Max’s sleeve and whispered in their ear. Max sighed and plopped Danny in front of them, then started to make tiny braids in her hair. “Honestly, we didn’t see much. There was a kitchen with some big tanks, and I thought a saw a supply room with jugs of chemicals. But no armory. So, unless you’re some mad chemist, I doubt there’s anything helpful around here.”

Five didn’t notice the man’s shoulders twitch and head rise at the word ‘chemist.’ She was focused on the floor, thinking. She bit her lower lip. “You’re sure about the chemicals?”

Max shrugged. “The jugs I saw had some intense looking labels with long words on them, so I assume that’s what they were.”

“Fair enough,” she muttered. She wasn’t a chemist, unfortunately. Five much preferred a gun or a nice, solid axe for her weapons. “Still, why don’t you explain the layout of what you did see.”

Max leaned around Danny and started drawing a crude map of their route through the prison in the dust on the floor.

Five was adding her own knowledge of the prison’s layout to the map when she heard a distant scream. She snapped her head up and saw someone coming down the hallway. Five got to her feet, angling herself to shield Max and Danny behind her. The other prisoners noticed him coming and Five tasted fear rising in the air. 

“Wakey wakey!” Travis peered through the bars. “Time for dinner.” He sniggered.

Someone whimpered as he slammed a baton into the bars. The others shrank back, avoiding eye contact. Five tracked him has he paced back and forth in front of the cells. 

“Aren’t we looking lively?” Travis asked, leering at her. “Are you volunteering as our guest tonight?”

She narrowed her eyes, balancing on the balls of her feet. 

“I appreciate the go-getter attitude. Really,” Travis said. He licked his lips as he eyed her and Five’s skin crawled. Then he unlocked the cell next to hers and grabbed the collar of the woman who had first told Five to give up. He started dragging her out by the collar of her shirt. The woman began sobbing and begged him to let her go. Her feet kicked out at the floor but found no purchase. 

Travis didn’t break eye contact with Five as he said, “But it’s not your turn.”

Five surged towards him, as if maybe she could grab the woman through the bars before he took her. But Travis shoved the woman into the hallway and slammed the cell door closed just as Five latched on to the bars. She couldn’t look away from the terrified, sobbing woman huddled on the floor. Helpless fury burned in her belly, as she accepted the fact that she couldn’t stop whatever Travis was planning to do to her. Travis laughed and snagged Five’s wrist through the bars, pulling her close until her face was pressed into the metal.

"What did you think you could accomplish, hmm?" he whispered. His warm breath brushed her cheek. Five forced herself not to squirm or move away. His grip was too strong for her to break and she knew he wanted to see her scared. She refused to give him the satisfaction. "That you could take me on?” He asked. “Then what, escape?" He slammed her against the bars. "You don't stand a chance," he hissed. 

She locked her fear and disgust away behind a mask, gathered her courage, and laughed at him.

He cursed and shoved her away. "You won't be laughing for long, bitch. I'll make sure Charlie picks you next. And maybe we’ll have a little fun before you die." The woman sobbed quietly as Travis hauled her to her feet and dragged her down the hall.

"What's going to happen to her," Five asked the remaining prisoners when Travis disappeared. "Why didn't she run?"

"Run where?" someone from the woman’s cell scoffed. The shadows were so dark that Five couldn’t see who was talking. "This prison is a maze."

She felt Max touch her shoulder. "You okay? I can't believe you did that."

"What, laugh?" Five massaged her wrist. If she couldn’t save that woman, she was glad she had at least pissed him off.

Max looked at her like she was losing her mind. "He's going to kill you."

"Others have tried. I’m still here." Five eyed the other man in her cell and stood before him, towering over him with her arms crossed. He tried to look away, but Five crouched, tilting her head to force him to keep eye contact with her. "Now. What do they plan to do with her?"

"You don't want to know," he mumbled.

Irritation prickled her skin. "I decide what I want to know," she snapped. "Tell me."

The man finally stopped trying to avoid her gaze. When he looked at her she saw someone broken, someone who had no emotion left because the world had leeched it all away. "You'll be able to smell it in a bit."

She wasn’t expecting that. "Smell it?" she frowned.

He dipped his head. Five took a breath to berate him again...and paused. There was a brief moment of recognition before it was gone again, but there was something in the air. She breathed deeply once more and closed her eyes, trying to place the new scent. It was intermingled with the smells of dust and mold and iron. It smelled like...a roast? But something was off. Something was burning, no, cooking...

Five opened her eyes again, trying to tamp down her horror as the smell grew stronger. Nausea unfurled in her stomach.

"We're not just their prisoners," the man confirmed her unspoken question. "We're their food supply."

****

It had been a few days since anyone had come by the cells. No one even came by to give them food, which was probably for the best. Though the smell of burning human flesh had technically dissipated, Five couldn’t get it out of her memory. If they had given her food she wouldn’t have been able to eat it. 

Five, Max and Danny sat together towards the back of the cell. They had been discussing and planning an escape plan ever since Travis took the woman. The three of them had finally agreed that the next visitor they had was going to be their last. The man was still in the spot he had been in since she arrived, staring blankly at the dark walls of the prison. The other prisoners in the adjoining cells kept to themselves, but every once in a while, she could hear muffled crying. Five knew they had to get out of here, and they had to do it now. 

A jaunty whistle echoed down the hall. Five’s skin hummed as her nerves lit up with anticipation. She breathed deeply to center herself. **Here we go.**

“Goooood morning,” Travis appeared from the shadows, grinning. Five bared her teeth. She was glad it was him. 

“I brought some breakfast.” He tossed a chunk of meat through the bars and Five scrambled to her feet, unable to help herself. Danny whimpered, drawing Travis’s eye.

“You’re worse than the zoms,” Five said in a low, harsh voice.

Travis pouted. “Oh, are you sad?” His pout twisted into an expectant smile. “Are you scared?” 

His expression changes were dizzying, but she was relying on his instability to get them out of here. Five relaxed her shoulders, eyeing him up and down and laughed again. It sounded harsh in the dank, hopeless environment of her cell. “Scared?” she asked. “Of you? This is practically a vacation compared to what I’ve seen. And you’re nothing more than a fly buzzing in my ear.”

She watched his face turn pale with rage. The remaining prisoners were deadly silent. No one wanted to draw his ire.

 **Come on** , she urged silently. **Open the door.**

He grabbed the bars with both hands. “You’ll be singing a different tune when I gut you alive, whore.”

“That’s what you came up with?” Five drawled. “Why don’t you come back when you have something more interesting to say.” He was close to losing it, she just needed to push him over the edge. “Or send Charlie back here. Now he’s intimidating.” She hoped that elevating the younger man would get under Travis’s skin. 

She was right.

With a growl, Travis shoved his keys into the prison door and yanked it open. He barreled towards Five, hands outstretched like he wanted to claw her eyes out.

Quick as a viper, Five shifted out of his reach and snapped her fist towards his jaw. As her fist crunched into his face, Travis stumbled away. But he recovered quickly, his fury numbing the pain Five knew he was feeling, and threw himself towards her again. Before she could dodge, he wrapped his arms around her middle and slammed her back into the bars. Pain burst in the back of her head. Stars danced in her eyes as she desperately tried to focus.

Someone—Max—leapt onto Travis’ back, scratching and snarling like a wild animal. With a cry Travis released Five, attempting to simultaneously shield his eyes and rip Max off of his back.

She followed quickly, shouting for Max to let go. Five punched Travis again, then kicked out with her heel when he tried to grapple her. It connected with his kneecap. 

He went down with a high-pitched scream, which Five quickly smothered with her hand. She knelt on his chest, pinning him down, and wrapped her hands around his throat. It took a moment for him to realize what was happening through the pain, but once he did, he started to struggle. He pushed at her hands and writhed on the ground, making an awful chocking sound that made her sick. Five was strong, and as fit as anyone could be in the apocalypse. Runners had to be. But Travis was desperate and no weakling himself. She strained to hold him down and crush his throat. One particularly hard twist almost knocked her loose.

The man in their cell grabbed Travis’s shoulders. Five looked up in surprise and he stared grimly back at her. She thought she saw a glimmer of something in his eyes before Travis’s throes distracted her. 

By the time Travis weakened, and eventually stopped struggling all together, her arms were aching. Five finally released him, her muscles quivering like jelly. She let go, flexing her hands, and then checked his pulse. He was unconscious, but alive.

She dragged him to one of the bars and handcuffed him there, keeping the key for herself. Then she ripped a strip of cloth from his shirt and gagged him so that when he did wake no one would hear him.

She looked up to see Max, Danny, and all the other prisoners staring at her.

“Why would you do that?” one of them whispered. “Now they’ll kill us all.”

“Not if we get out of here,” Five snapped.

“What about him?” the man, nodding towards Travis, bound, gagged, and injured on the ground. 

Five hesitated. The clinical part of her brain warned her that she should kill him now. Alive, he was a threat. But the other part of her balked at killing a defenseless man while others watched, even if he was a murderer. She glanced over her shoulder at Max and Danny who were watching her, wide-eyed and pale. 

She couldn’t do it. “We leave him,” Five said.

The man froze, his eyes snapping with anger. Five faced him quietly, surprised by the sudden flare of emotion. “We leave him.”

The muscle in his jaw jumped, but after a moment he nodded and made no protest.

She stood and touched Max’s shoulder in a silent signal to follow. Five took the keys still dangling from the lock and freed the rest of the prisoners as they moved down the corridor. Some cried in relief, others simply stared at her, expressionless. They were all skittish and afraid. But with some cajoling and harrying, she managed to get them all to follow her. 

When they made it to a hallway with four branching corridors, Five noticed the broken and barely legible exit sign pointing towards the left. Freedom was right there. They had remained undetected so far, but she knew they were tempting fate to stay much longer. But she couldn’t leave without her gear.

She turned and signaled the man who had helped her with Travis to come up to the front. “Can you lead these people out?” she murmured. The others milled around glancing furtively into the darkened hallways. Their control on their fear hung by a thread. “There are some things I need to retrieve but I don’t want to keep people here any longer than necessary.”

The man looked at her, his expression unreadable. She was afraid he was going to crack on her. “Listen,” she said harshly. “I don’t care what you do after this. But I need you right now. These people need you.”

There it was. A little flicker of life that he had pushed down so long just to survive. She just had to stoke it a little bit higher. 

She squeezed his shoulder. “We’ve almost made it. We don’t have to die here.”

He placed his hands over hers and nodded. “All right,” he whispered.

“We’re going with you,” Max stated from behind her.

Five turned. “You’re sure? I’m going deeper into the prison, not out. Not yet.”

Max nodded. “I trust you.”

She met Max’s unflinching gaze and recognized the effort it took for them to offer that trust. “Okay,” she murmured. “Stick close to me.” 

***

Jonah watched the woman leave, the two children trailing in her wake. His heart ached when he saw the youngest one reach out to take her hand.

“Now what?” one of the prisoners whispered behind him.

He knew she thought she was inspiring him to escape, to take the life she was offering every prisoner there. But it wasn’t hope she had inspired, it was revenge. And the youngster, Max, had given him the means to do it. 

“Keep going that way,” he pointed down the hallway with the exit sign. “She’s given us a chance to live and you’re going to take it. But I’ve got something to do first.”

A woman pushed her way through the group. He recognized her, but didn’t know her name. He had learned the hard way that it was better not to know people’s names in here. Her iron grey hair was knotted at the back of her head and her clothes were ripped and muddy. “I was there,” she said, her eyes hard. “I know. I’ve got this.” It didn’t take her long to get the rest of the prisoners ushered down the hallway and out of sight. Jonah turned back the way he had come.

When he arrived back at his now-empty cell, Travis was just starting to wake up. Jonah stood at the cell door and watched as he struggled with the handcuffs. When Travis finally noticed him, he shouted unintelligibly through the gag. 

Jonah watched silently. Travis’ angry mumblings tapered off until the two men were just staring at each other.

“I hate you, you know,” Jonah said quietly. “You weren’t awake when that woman spared your life, so you can’t be grateful for the extra minutes she gave you.” He stepped into the cell and crouched in front of Travis. Travis’ eyes tracked his every movement. “But she doesn’t know. She doesn’t understand because she hadn’t been here long enough. I have.”

Jonah tilted his head to the side. “You killed my son, you see. You took him from my arms and you murdered him. And I’m going to kill you for that. I’m going to kill you all for that.”

As he did it, he didn’t expect how quiet it would be. The sound of Travis’ kicking feet was swallowed by the empty prison hallway. When Travis finally stopped breathing, Jonah stared at his body without feeling. He was a man who had been lost in grief for so long he no longer felt lost.

Jonah stood and disappeared into the depths of the prison.

***

It was a simple matter of retracing her steps to the room where Charlie had taken her headset. The skin on the back of her neck was tight with nerves. Her brain registered the sounds echoing throughout the prison and then discarded them as nonimportant. Five inched to the edge of the doorway, holding up a hand to tell Max and Danny to wait. 

She took one breath. Then another. She concentrated on the room beyond for any sign of danger and heard only silence. Knowing she couldn’t wait much longer, Five edged around the doorway and peered into the room.

The room was empty. Her backpack leaned against the leather chair. The flap was open and some empty food wrappers were strewn across the seat of the chair. She could see the cord from her headset dangling out of her backpack.

Five breathed a sigh of relief and beckoned Max and Danny inside. They clung to each other, their expressions an example of tightly controlled terror. She snatched up the headset and placed it on her head. After sending up a quick, silent prayer, she turned it on.

"Runner Five to Abel Township. Do you read?" she said. Her hands were shaking but her voice remained steady. 

Only static crackled in her ear. She closed her eyes against a brief flicker of doubt and tried again. "Abel, come in. This is Runner Five. Can anyone hear me?"

A brief squeal of interference and then a rushed, “ _I'm here, I'm here. Hello? Runner Five are you there?”_

Her heart jumped. "Sam?" she asked. Max raised their eyebrows as Five's voice cracked a little.

She heard him exhale. “ _Oh, thank God_ ,” he murmured. _“Are you all right? Where are you?”_

“I’m—”

“I should have guessed you would be trouble.”

Five spun around. Charlie stood at the doorway, glowering at her. His previously styled hair was a little ruffled now. **Good** , she thought bitterly. She reached out and swept Max and Danny behind her.

“Which one are you from?” he asked, stepping forward. Five clocked the knife in his hand and her heart started to race. “Abel? New Canton? Mullins? Bert Airfield?”

She kept her body between him and the kids and Charlie smirked. “I could make you tell me, you know. When you cut up bodies often enough, you start to get a feel for causing pain.”

 _“Cut up bodies?”_ Sam repeated, horrified. 

“Even if you die before telling me, I will figure it out,” he continued, playing with the knife in his hand. “Eventually. I’ll find more runners and I’ll make them tell me. And one by one your friends will become Sunday dinner. It’s a shame you—” 

Five leapt at him, latching onto the wrist of his knife hand. It only took seconds for Charlie to realize her plan, but it was seconds he didn’t have. She slammed him back into the wall and then smashed his wrist against the stone.

He managed to hold onto the knife. With his other hand, Charlie gripped Five’s short curls and yanked. She stifled a scream as pain snaked across her scalp. She heard Sam’s panicked shout before her headset clattered to the ground. Despite the pain, she dug her nails into Charlie’s wrist. She was unarmed and if she let go for even a moment she would be dead. 

Five threw her head forward, wincing as the hairs came away from her scalp, and crunched her forehead into Charlie’s face. She slammed his wrist against the wall one more time and the knife finally clattered to the ground. 

She hooked her foot around his and yanked. Charlie took her with him as he tumbled, and she hit the floor with a thud. He rolled over top of her, the weight of his body making it hard for her to breathe. Five kicked out and stretched, her fingers grasping for the weapon. **Oh God** , she thought, finding nothing but air.

She gasped as it felt like Charlie punched her in the side. Hard. The weight on her body lifted as Charlie rolled away. Five tried to get up but her muscles refused to obey. When she looked down the knife was sticking out of her body.

Charlie wiped at the blood streaming down his face from his broken nose. “Nice try. Really, ‘A’ for effort. But you’ve wasted enough of my time, so--”

Five gritted her teeth. In one swift movement, she pulled the knife from her side and jammed it up through Charlie’s throat. His voice cut off with a soft, short gurgle. He looked at her in surprise before finally slumping over. 

She tried to scoot away from the body, but her hands—covered in blood—slipped a little on the floor. Coldness seeped in through the hole in her side and crept through her veins, weighing her down. 

Max appeared behind her and gripped her arms. They pulled her upwards into a sitting position while Danny hovered next to them, her tearstained face scrunched up in fear.

Five smiled, forcing down the growing pain. “Hey Danny, it’s okay. Come here.” She pressed one hand to her side and wiped the other one on her shirt, then held it out for Danny. “It’s going to be all right. Max, can you get me the headset? And grab the backpack, too.”

They looked at her with their jaw clenched, but obeyed. When Max handed the headset to her she could hear Sam speaking frantically on the other hand.

_“— **please** , somebody answer me!”_

“Sam,” she interrupted, trying to keep her voice calm. 

He exhaled loudly in relief. _“Five, are you all right? What happened?”_

She took a shallow breath, wincing as that single breath tore at her wound. “One of the men who captured me attacked us. He’s dead.”

 _“Okay,”_ he muttered to himself. _“Okay. I don’t have cams up yet, but now that your headset is on I can figure out where you are and get you home.”_

Five, glanced down at the blood seeping through her fingers. She could feel the dull, throbbing ache growing with each passing moment. The journey back would be difficult even if she was in the best of health. An open, bleeding wound would simply attract the zoms and slow her down. If she went with them, she wouldn’t be protecting them—she would be putting them at greater risk. She wasn’t going to do that. 

“I’m with two children, Max and Danny. I’m going to send them ahead on to Abel and I need you to guide them.”

Max shook their head sharply at her words. The silence at the other head of the headset was heavy. 

_“Five…Why does that sound like you aren’t going with them?”_

“Because I’m not. I’m wounded too badly for it to be safe.”

Sam’s voice sharpened with panic. _“You’re what? How?”_

“You can still walk!” Max said. “We’ll help you.”

Five looked at Max with sympathy. “Thank you. But it’s too much of a risk. You know how zoms are with open wounds. Sam will get you home. He always does,” she added.

 _“No, hold on.”_ Sam sounded scared. _“I’ll call doctor Lobatse, she can help. Tell you what to do.”_

Hope flickered in her chest that maybe, just maybe, they could make that work. Then she heard shouts echoing down the hallway. Danny gasped and Max looked a little pale, glancing between Five and the empty doorway. Her hope died. 

“No,” she said gently. “There’s no time. Please,” she closed her eyes, pretending it was just the two of them. “Please get them home for me.”

He was too silent. “Sam?”

 _“Promise me you won’t give up, okay?”_ he said. _“We’ll get Max and Danny to Abel and then come back for you.”_

Five refused to let a single tear fall. At least, not in front of the kids. “I don’t—”

_“Promise me!”_

It was dangerous to promise things in an apocalypse. As a rule, she didn’t make them. But when Sam asked her like that, none of her rules seemed to matter anymore. “All right,” she said. “I promise.” **Not yet** , she told the tears in her eyes. 

“Bye Sam.”She took off her headset quickly and passed it to Max. “Listen to him and stay safe, all right?”

They took it reluctantly. “So, we’ll see you there, right?”

“I’ll try,” she answered. The pain was spreading through her body and her shirt was sticking to her skin as the cloth soaked up the blood. It was bad, but they couldn’t know that. “Don’t turn on the head cam until you’re out in the hallway.” Sam didn’t need to see her injuries.

She turned her head and squeezed Danny’s hand. “You’re doing so well kiddo. But you’re going to need to be extra brave for a little bit longer, okay?”

Danny sniffled and nodded. Max pried her away from Five and held tightly to her hand. 

“Run fast,” she told them.

After Max and Danny were gone, Five struggled to find the strength to move. Beside her, Charlie’s body continued to cool.

 **Get up** , she berated herself. **People have survived worse than this. _You’ve_ survived worse than this. You’re going to let yourself die in this shitty place? You’re going to break your promise? Get. The fuck. Up.**

Five closed her eyes for a moment. Then she got to her feet and stumbled out of the room. 

Despite the fact that she was standing, she wasn’t in any shape to fend off other members of this—what? Community? Cult? Whatever they called themselves, Five was defenseless. So when she heard footsteps behind her, catching up at a good pace, she knew this was it.

Five turned and braced herself against the wall. If she was going out, she would go out fighting. 

She came face to face with the man from her prison cell, the one she thought had escaped almost fifteen minutes ago.

“What are you still doing here?” she hissed at him. “You were supposed to get everyone out!”

“They’re out,” he told her, unperturbed. “One of the others led them. I had unfinished business. Where are the young ones?”

She slumped a little bit against the wall. “I sent them ahead with my supplies.” Five showed him her stab wound, grimacing.

He looked behind him for a moment, his expression unreadable. Then he lifted her free arm over his shoulder and supported her weight. “Come on. We don’t have much time.”

“I know,” she answered.

He shook his head. “No, you don’t. Hurry.”

***

 _“Keep it up Max, you're doing great,”_ the Abel guy, Sam, said. _“How's Danny?”_

Danny had her arms wrapped around their shoulders, nearly choking them. Max shifted her up a little bit on their back. Carrying her was hard, but it was a lot faster than forcing Danny to run on her own. They even managed to keep hold of Five’s backpack at the same time, at least for now. "Fine," they answered.

They thought they heard muttering on the other end of the headset. "What?" Max asked.

There was a pause. _“Oh, uh, nothing. Sorry.”_ Sam laughed, but it sounded a little strained. _“It's just...Runner Five doesn't talk much on her runs either. Seems like you two have that it common.”_

Max didn't respond. They were too tired and breathing too hard to say anything, first of all. Second of all, they didn’t like to think about the fact that Runner Five was still behind them in that prison. She was supposed to be here, with them, keeping them safe. Instead, she had sent Max and Danny off by themselves. Again. For a brief, happy moment Max had believed the being alone part of their life might be over once they escaped.

"How much longer?" Danny whispered.

Sam must have heard because he answered before Max had the chance. _“Not much. I can see you guys on that camera over on your left.”_

Max spotted it and pointed out the camera, tied and duct taped to a tall electrical pole. Danny waved.

 _“There you are! Hello!”_ Sam said, and Max could hear the smile in his voice. _“We're sending out a few more runners to meet you guys and escort you back to Abel. So just keep running a little bit longer and they’ll give you a bit of a break.”_

Max tensed, then forced their muscles to relax. Runner Five trusted these guys, and Max had made the decision to trust her. For Danny’s sake, at least, they would trust them too. 

“You’re going to help Runner Five, right?” Max asked, a little harshly.

There was a startled pause before Sam spoke. _“Of course we are!”_ Sam answered. A bit of worry trickled into his voice. _“Did…did she say something?”_

Max made a face. “She said you saved her life once, even when you didn’t know her. She said you would come get her. I just want to make sure she’s right.”

 _“Right,”_ Sam sighed. 

Just then Max heard a deep, distant rumble, like a storm was rolling in. They looked up, searching the sky for storm clouds. They really didn’t want to get caught out here in the rain. But the sky was blue and sunny, with no hint of rain let alone an incoming storm. 

They did, however, notice a pillar of smoke rising from the same direction of the prison.

“Hey, uh, Sam, do you see this?” 

_“Oh nononono.”_

Max heard furious typing in the background. “Is that the prison?”

_“I—I don’t know. All the cameras inside are gone, so…I think it might be.”_

"Max, what’s going on?” Danny asked. Max realized they had stopped running and were just staring at the column of black smoke. They had to get Danny to safety, but it didn’t feel right to just turn around and abandon the one person who had helped them.

 _“Max, listen,”_ Sam broke in just as Max was about to start running. _“I have runners heading towards the prison now, but we’ve got to get you and Danny to safety. I promised Five and I’m going to make sure I keep that promise. Can you help me with that?”_

They huffed and Danny squeezed her arms around their shoulders. “Yeah. Okay. What do you want us to do?”

_“I have two runners heading in your direction to escort you to Abel. All I need you to do is run.”_

****

Sam watched the monitors and a little knot of tension in his stomach loosened just a touch when Jody and Owen finally met up with Max and Danny. Those two were a little bit safer now, but he wouldn’t fully relax until everyone— _everyone_ —was safely inside Abel.

He switched over to Paula and Doctor Lobatse’s head cams as they ran towards the prison. He tried once again to tap into the prison’s interior cameras, knowing it was useless. They had all gone dark the moment that explosion happened and he hadn’t been able to get them back. But for some reason, he still held out hope.

“Come on, Five,” he muttered, ticking through the various long-range cameras he had access to near the prison. “I know you made it out, you just gotta tell me where.” He refused to believe she had been inside the prison when whatever happened, happened.

 _“Sam, any updates?”_ Paula’s voice crackled out from his own headset. He focused back on her camera screen, the image bouncing up and down as she ran.

“Nothing but that giant column of smoke,” he answered. “The explosion is drawing zoms but you guys still have some time before you have to turn around. I--” he clenched his jaw. “I haven’t seen anyone running away from the prison on the long-range cams.”

 _“Those cameras don’t cover all the angles Samuel,”_ Lobatse said gently. _“Five is resourceful.”_

“Yeah,” he muttered. He straightened suddenly, zeroing in on two stumbling figures caught on the edges of the screen. They weren’t moving like zoms. “Wait, guys, I see something! There’s two people heading west, straight ahead of you. If you put on a burst of speed, you should intercept them.”

 _“Let’s just hope they aren’t those prison cannibals,”_ Paula said wryly.

“One of them looks injured,” Sam answered, squinting at the screen. His chest tightened. “So, if they are from the prison you should be able to outrun them and if it’s Five…”

 _“If it’s Five, we should hurry,”_ Paula finished for him. _“Come on, Kefilwe”_

Sam forgot to breathe as he watched the screens from both headcams. The two figures had disappeared from long range camera view so he had to rely on Paula and Lobatse for any glimpse of the person that could be Five.

 _“I see them!”_ Paula said, a little out of breath. 

“Is it her?” Sam asked, leaning over the desk to get closer to the screen.

 _“Don’t come any closer!”_ A man yelled. He sounded a little distant but Sam could still pick up the words through his runners’ headsets. 

“Oh God.” Sam felt the blood leave his face as he saw Five being carried by this stranger, her eyes closed and body hanging completely limp in his arms.

 _“Sir, I believe you have our runner,”_ Lobatse said, her voice clipped. Sam watched the man’s shoulder’s sag a little with relief.

_“You’re friends with Five?”_

Sam leaned forward. “Is she okay?”

 _“We are,”_ Paula said at the same time. _“We’ve come to help.”_

 _“Here, I tried to get us out before the place blew but we couldn’t quite make it. I did the best I could with her injuries.”_ He untangled Five’s arm from his shoulder and held her out towards Paula and Lobatse. Five’s head lolled on her shoulders and Sam had trouble pinpointing the source of all the blood on her clothes.

He wasn’t listening to Paula question the stranger. Instead, he watched with growing concern as Dr. Lobatse examined Five’s injuries. Her skin was much too pale and flecks of dried blood on her face stood out like dark freckles. He couldn’t look away from the swath of blood on her shirt—he had sworn it was green when she left Abel but now parts of it looked black. Lobatse lifted the shirt and Sam saw that someone had managed to clumsily wrap some bandages around her side, but the blood still seeped through the cloth.

 _“She has a head wound too,”_ Lobatse muttered. 

Sam’s hands were shaking. “Will she be okay?”

Five’s eyes fluttered for a moment and she mumbled something, but Sam couldn’t catch what she said.

 _“Runner Five, can you hear me?”_ Lobatse asked. She spoke louder than normal. _“It’s Doctor Lobatse. I need you to open your eyes.”_

Sam could see Five's eyes moving under her closed eyelids, but she didn't wake up. "Keep trying!"

 _"If she doesn't wake, it will be a lot harder to get back to Abel,"_ Lobatse said. 

_"Do you have any other ideas?"_ Paula asked. The man who had helped Five stood a few steps back, looking between the two women with a concerned frown.

Lobatse paused. _"I might. Dr. Cohen, do you have an extra headset?"_

Sam heard rustling as Paula rummaged through her bag. _"Here."_

Lobatse took it with a murmured thanks and placed the headset on Five's head. _"Sam, why don't you try talking to her?"_

He hesitated. Could he really help? His heart was pounding and it felt like he couldn't breathe properly. If he didn't succeed, if she didn't wake up.... **Stop it** , he kicked himself. He had to do whatever he could to help her. She was going to make it back, she had to. 

He cleared his throat and pulled his chair closer to the desk. "Okay. Five? Five, can you hear me? It's--it's Sam. I really, _really_ need you to wake up...."

****

She was so tired. It was nice here, in the dark. She couldn't feel pain or cold or the low hum of fear that became a constant part of her life after the apocalypse destroyed the world. All she had to do was sleep. 

But that voice just wouldn't let her go.

 _"Five, please_ ,"

It kept waking her up. She tried to ignore it, to just slip away out of its sight, something she was typically good at. Why wouldn't it let her go?

_"Abel needs you."_

Five paused. Something poked at her, turning her around. The voice sounded scared and... desperate. Maybe she should--

_"I--I need you."_

She knew that voice, somehow, and she knew she trusted it. If it was telling her to wake up, then maybe she should listen. 

_“You promised me.”_

She started crawling her way out of the dark, digging in her nails and gritting her teeth until she came back to her body. Every muscle felt heavy, like the entirety of Earth's gravity was pressing her into the ground. It was still dark but now she could see sunlight through her closed eyes. All she had to do was open them.

It was harder than forcing herself out of an exhausted sleep. Her eyes refused to obey her commands, but Sam was talking to her. With a last heave of effort, she opened her eyes and saw Doctor Lobatse kneeling over her.

"Well," Lobatse's eyes crinkled with relief. "Hello Runner Five."

Five looked over Lobatse's shoulder and saw Paula hovering, concern etched on her face just as the headset crackled in her ear.

_"Five, say something!"_

She relaxed and smiled just a little. "Hey Sam." She heard a rush of air over her headset as he sighed in relief. "Are Max and Danny okay?"

_"They're safe, back in Abel. Just like a promised. Now it's your turn."_

Five shook her head and then grimaced as her injuries reminded her they were there. "You all need to leave. The explosion will draw zoms and I'll slow you down too much."

Everyone started protesting at the same time.

_"Absolutely not!"_

"We won't leave you Five."

"We can all make it if we get you to your feet."

Five glared at Paula and Kefilwe. She could feel the time slipping away too quickly. "I won't have you die trying to save me! Abel needs you, both of you, a lot more than they need a runner." She lay her head back, exhausted from the effort of speaking that many words. How was she going to stand, let alone run home?

"Five," Paula knelt beside her and gripped her shoulder. "I'm sorry for what I said. No one is replaceable. You're my friend, and I'm not going to just leave you here."

Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes and Five blinked rapidly up at the sky to keep them from falling.

 _"Remember,"_ Sam said. _"You promised you would try to get back."_

Fine. They weren't listening to her, and she refused to just lay here and let them die because of her. If she slowed them down too much, she could always try to convince them to leave her later. She counted to three, slowly, steeling herself against the wave of pain that would come when she moved. "Help me up."

Two sets of hands slipped under her shoulders and lifted. Five couldn’t quite suppress the whimper that escaped when she was sitting fully upright. It felt like claws were digging into her stomach and moving through her body. She squeezed Paula's out-stretched hand. "Get it over with."

Paula and Lobatse nodded to each other and without warning hoisted Five to her feet. 

Pain flashed through her body, white-hot and blinding. Five cried out, shuddering as she rode out the tidal wave of agony.

“You all right?” Paula asked after Five took a shaky breath. The sharp fire subsided to a dull throb, but she could at least function through that.

“No,” Five ground out between clenched teeth. “But let’s go.”

 _“Guys, you’ve got zoms incoming from …basically everywhere,”_ Sam interrupted. He did an admirable job keeping his panic at bay.

Through her haze, Five noticed Paula and Lobatse exchange another look. They knew they weren’t going to make it.

Jonah spoke up behind them. “I’ll draw them off.”

Five looked at him, pleading. “Don’t.”

“Oh, lass,” he sighed. “I died in that prison the day they killed my son. But I can do for you what I couldn’t do for him.”

Five wanted to argue with him. He was healthy, he could make it back to Abel safely while she was just a liability. But her stab wound was throbbing and she couldn’t form the words before Lobatse handed him a small, black device.

“Use one of our noisemakers,” she said. “And thank you.”

Jonah nodded. “Get her home.” Then he took off running away from their group. It was a few more moments before they heard the high-pitched steady beeping of the noisemaker.

“He’s a brave man. Let’s make sure his sacrifice is worth it.” Paula said softly. “Where to, Sam?”

Sam went to work, expertly directing them through the zoms converging on the prison. Five didn’t have enough strength to follow along, but his voice alone was enough to let her feel safe. Then is tone changed.

_“Guys, there’s someone—"_

“Stop right there!” Kefilwe shouted. 

Hearing her friends’ panic, Five forced herself to focus. A figure stumbled towards them out of the trees. **Trees?** Five wondered absently. She shook her head. The figure—a man—had fresh burns all along one side of his face and body. His clothes were still smoldering. But Five recognized the red baseball cap.

“Rich,” she said. He simply looked at her, his eyes glazed with anger and pain.

“You know him?” Paula muttered.

“He’s one of the men who captured me.”

She heard Sam’s sharp intake of breath, but kept her attention on the rifle in Rich’s hand. “Let me go,” she told Paula and Kefilwe. “If he attacks you need to have both hands free.”

“You can’t even stand,” Kefilwe protested.

“You did this,” Rich growled. “You killed us.”

“And how many people have you killed?” Paula fired back. “This all ends better for everyone if you just walk away now.”

Rich leveled his gun at Five and everyone froze. Even Sam was quiet at the other end of her headset.

Five took a deep breath, holding on to her agony and letting it fuel her. She stepped forward, locking her knees even as her legs threatened to collapse beneath her. 

_“Five, what are you doing?”_ Sam whispered.

“Go ahead,” she challenged. Her legs trembled and the edges of her vision were starting to blur. But she just had to hold on long enough to help her friends get away.

Five felt Paula come stand beside her, and then Kefilwe a moment later. “If you want her, you go through us,” Paula said. Strength she thought had left her long ago flooded her body and Five remained on her feet.

Rich hesitated, his finger on the trigger. They could hear zombies groaning in the distance, sounding oddly like a herd of sick cows. Any remaining wildlife had fled and the only other sound was a small breeze rustling through the trees.

His finger twitched and Five thought for a horrible moment he was going to pull the trigger. Instead, he dropped the rifle and started to cough, a deep, wet sound that caught in his chest. They all recognized that sound. Five couldn’t see the bite through his burns, but she knew it was there.

“You don’t have long,” Kefilwe told him. “We can stop you from turning. It will be quick, a mercy considering what you’ve done to so many innocent people.” 

_“Guys, if he turns while you’re still there he’ll go straight for Five,”_ Sam warned.

Rich finally stopped coughing and wiped at his mouth with the back of his unburnt hand. “Fuck you,” he spat. “It’s your fault I’m turning into one of those _things!_ ”

Five shook her head in disbelief, but she couldn’t look away from him. “You already are. The first time you ate another human being you became one of them.” She could see the terror buried underneath his anger. It was the only thing fueling him now.

“You don’t understand!” he said, almost begging. “I had lost everything. My home, my family, any friends I had. There was no food, no water, nowhere to go…I had no choice. I don’t deserve this!”

“You did have a choice!” Paula spat. Five glanced at her, knowing she continued to carry the guilt of her time with VanArk. “You have to take responsibility for that.” 

Kefilwe’s eyes blazed with anger. “Maybe this is exactly what you deserve.”

“You don’t understand,” he repeated quietly. He devolved into another fit of coughing.

Five swayed on her feet, the yawning chasm of unconsciousness pulling at her. But she did understand. She understood the desperation, the gnawing, overwhelming fear of death, of the unknown, that turns otherwise decent people into cruel ones. She knew the fear that whispers and gnaws away at the gentle, fragile parts of life until everything and everyone is shut out in the name of protecting yourself. But fear only grows when you feed it. Like Paula said, they all have the choice not to give into it.

“Was it worth it?” she asked him, her voice cold.

Rich looked at her. His eyes started to glaze over and his coughing turned into a moan. Five’s stomach lurched and she automatically reached for a weapon she didn’t have. As she did, the world tipped into darkness and the last thing she heard was Sam’s voice shouting in her ear, and a single gunshot.

****

Five woke up again, grudgingly. Every muscle ached and protested her current state of consciousness. It took more effort than she would've liked to open her eyes. 

She was back at Abel, in one of the hospital beds, but she couldn’t remember how she got there. The last thing she remembered was Rich turning. Then…nothing.

Five turned her head, hoping to find a glass of water.

She found Sam. He was snoring lightly, curled up sideways in a chair with one leg dangling over the armrest. It couldn’t possibly be comfortable, yet here he was. 

“He’s been there ever since they brought you back.”

Five looked at the other side of her bed in surprise. Max was sitting on a fold out chair next to her bed, a battered book in their hands. "Max?"

They handed her a cup of the water she had been looking for. Five tried to sit up but stopped at the sharp pain in her stomach. Max slipped their arm behind her back and helped her the rest of the way. 

Five laid her head back against the wall and accepted the glass gratefully. "What happened?” How is Danny? Are you two doing all right?"

They sat back down, leaving the book open face down on the floor. "Rich stopped himself from turning just in time. The doctors brought you back, unconscious, and you’ve been here for four days.”

Five suppressed her shock at the fact she had been unconscious for so long. “And you and Danny?” 

Max crossed their arms. “Danny is loving it here, she actually has other kids to play with."

Five studied Max. "And you?"

"I'm good now." They gave her a half smile. "I was afraid I would have to feel guilty if you didn't make it back."

Five laughed carefully, still aware of her fresh wounds. “Well, you don’t have to worry now. You’re free and clear.”

Max looked down. “Thank you,” they said. “I- I don’t know what we would have done if…”

Five leaned over and patted Max’s hand. “You’re welcome. I’m glad you decided to come to Abel.”

Max nodded and Five felt the slightest of pressure from their hand, before they quickly stood up and shoved their hands in their pockets. "I better go tell the doctor and boss lady you're awake.”

“Boss lady?” Five frowned.

“Yeah. Blond woman, really intense.”

Five grinned. “Janine.”

“Yeah, the boss lady. She’s been hounding everyone who comes to visit you about your condition. She keeps saying she wants to debrief you as soon as possible but,” Max shrugged. “I think she just wants to make sure you’re doing okay. And the doc wanted to examine you as soon as you got up. Besides,” They nodded towards Sam. “You should probably wake him up, too. He’s been worried.” 

Five shook her head. "He worries too much."

Max raised their eyebrows. "He did think you were dying.”

At that moment, Sam stirred and blinked sleepily at her. Max smiled and gave a little wave. “I’ll go get the doc.” They squeezed by Five’s bed and took off down the hallway.

“Five?”

Sam looked at her like he wasn’t quite sure she was really awake. “Hey,” He gave her a hesitant smile. “How are you feeling?”

She responded with her own soft smile. “You should see the other guy.” Her smile turned to a grimace as she shifted the wrong direction. Immediately Sam was there, helping to get into a more comfortable position.

“I’m so sorry,” he said softly, his expression pained. “For everything. I should have been there when you went out on the mission. God, I thought…I thought I wouldn’t see you again. And after our fight…” he sat down put his face in hands.

“Hey,” she put her hand on his arm. “It’s okay.”

“It’s not though.” He laced his fingers with hers and looked into her eyes. “Listen. I didn’t talk to you about all of the Maxine stuff because you have so much going on already. I can see how exhausted you are after coming back from searching for everyone. I didn’t want to burden you and make things worse. We can’t—” he shook his head. “ _I_ can’t lose you.”

She looked down at their hands, acutely aware of the way her heart was pounding in her chest. “You won’t lose me,” she whispered. “But Sam, you’re my best friend. We’re supposed to support each other. It felt like I was the one losing you and I don’t think I can handle that. I don’t want to do all of this alone.” She had done that before, she could probably survive it. But she didn’t want to go back to that.

Sam brushed her knuckles with his thumb. “From now on, no more secrets, yeah?” he said. “We stick together.”

She had already broken her ‘no promise’ rule once. What harm would one more time do? 

“Together." 


End file.
